Scunthorpe vs Man City Preview

Posted Saturday, January 23, 2010 by ESPN

David Mirfin is confident Scunthorpe can bring Man City back down to earth in Sunday's FA Cup fourth round tie at Glanford Park.

Scunthorpe vs Man City Preview Money-bags City are riding on the crest of a wave after their 2-1 victory against arch-rivals Manchester United in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final on Tuesday night.

But Nigel Adkins' Coca-Cola Championship side are not short of confidence having won two of their last three games, with only a late goal from Cardiff last weekend denying them a third win on the bounce.

City brushed aside the Iron with a 5-1 victory at Eastlands in the Carling Cup back in October, but former Huddersfield centre-back Mirfin insists the Championship side will pose more of a threat this time around.

The two clubs are worlds apart in terms of finance, with City splashing out over £100million in the transfer market last summer on the likes of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gareth Barry, while the Iron operate on a shoestring budget.

But Mirfin insists reputations will count for nothing when Roberto Mancini's side arrive in North Lincolnshire and the no-nonsense defender believes his side can catch City cold with a blistering start.

"The best way to get at City is to carry on playing like we have been," Mirfin told the Scunthorpe Telegraph.

"As a front four we can always score goals and I think as a back six we've become more solid.

"If we play at our pace and don't let Man City dictate the pace, I think we can get at them.

"But it's up to us to start as well just as we have done in the last couple of games.

"The longer you're at 0-0, or 1-0 up, the more likelihood there is of there being a shock.

"If you go 1-0 down, you've got a mountain to climb. Teams at that level are good enough to defend a 1-0 lead and even go on and score more.

"It'll be a different game to the one at their place.

"We're in quite good form at the moment and while we respect them, we don't fear them. At home it's up to us to play how we want to."

Adkins is expected to recall former Charlton midfielder Josh Wright after he recovered from illness, with summer signing Michael O'Connor missing out through suspension.

Former physio Adkins must decide whether to recall first-choice goalkeeper Joe Murphy or stick with Josh Lillis, a lifelong City fan, who has excelled in recent weeks and got the nod to face Cardiff last weekend.